So I've got an old LGA 775 system from early 09.
In 2011 it suddenly stopped working one day, would blue screen and instantly restart when loading Vista (endless loop). Rolling back and safe mode had no effect. Fortunately, at that time I had just bought a new MacBook Pro for work, and I didn't need the PC so it just started collecting dust.
Now, I've dusted off my ole PC and thought I might get it working again just to catch up on some of the games I couldn't get on my MBP (which are many).
Started off by trying to wipe the HDD with a fresh install of Windows 7, but it started crashing (BSOD) with a whole host of hardware/driver related errors. Sometimes I might make it to the point where it was "decompressing files" and other times I wouldn't even make it past the Windows logo.
So looking at my situation (what did and did not work), I narrowed the problem down to either the processor, RAM or motherboard.
I went out and bought new RAM, plugged that in, didn't solve the problem.
Thought maybe I would update the BIOS, did that, didn't solve the problem.
Now, I did notice that my CPU was running very hot (80 degrees celsius when idling) which is way high for a Core 2 Quad. I physically looked at the processor and found that the heatsink was covered in a thick layer of dust, preventing the fan from circulating air. I cleaned that off and the temperature dropped down to 30 degrees celsius when idling.
I thought that maybe there could be some heat damage, but I've had processors shut themselves down before due to heat and they always restarted just fine after they cooled down. So I have a hard time believing that the chip is fried. After all, if the CPU was fried, would it start at all?
Which leads me to believe that something on the motherboard is bad.
Does anyone have any advice for more accurately diagnosing my problem so I don't have to resort to simply swapping out every component for new ones?
I do have the Ultimate Boot CD, but there are so many diagnostic tools, I have no clue which ones to use ... and half the ones I try just end up crashing.
In 2011 it suddenly stopped working one day, would blue screen and instantly restart when loading Vista (endless loop). Rolling back and safe mode had no effect. Fortunately, at that time I had just bought a new MacBook Pro for work, and I didn't need the PC so it just started collecting dust.
Now, I've dusted off my ole PC and thought I might get it working again just to catch up on some of the games I couldn't get on my MBP (which are many).
Started off by trying to wipe the HDD with a fresh install of Windows 7, but it started crashing (BSOD) with a whole host of hardware/driver related errors. Sometimes I might make it to the point where it was "decompressing files" and other times I wouldn't even make it past the Windows logo.
So looking at my situation (what did and did not work), I narrowed the problem down to either the processor, RAM or motherboard.
I went out and bought new RAM, plugged that in, didn't solve the problem.
Thought maybe I would update the BIOS, did that, didn't solve the problem.
Now, I did notice that my CPU was running very hot (80 degrees celsius when idling) which is way high for a Core 2 Quad. I physically looked at the processor and found that the heatsink was covered in a thick layer of dust, preventing the fan from circulating air. I cleaned that off and the temperature dropped down to 30 degrees celsius when idling.
I thought that maybe there could be some heat damage, but I've had processors shut themselves down before due to heat and they always restarted just fine after they cooled down. So I have a hard time believing that the chip is fried. After all, if the CPU was fried, would it start at all?
Which leads me to believe that something on the motherboard is bad.
Does anyone have any advice for more accurately diagnosing my problem so I don't have to resort to simply swapping out every component for new ones?
I do have the Ultimate Boot CD, but there are so many diagnostic tools, I have no clue which ones to use ... and half the ones I try just end up crashing.
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